That's higher than 20% of South Dakota police departments.
We obtained data on 105 South Dakota police departments.
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Police Department
Sioux Falls
Scorecard at a Glance
Average for 4 Sections: 43%
Scores range from 0-100% comparing cities with 100-250k population. Cities with higher scores spend less on policing, use less force, are more likely to hold officers accountable and make fewer arrests for low-level offenses.
Worse
50th Percentile
Better
| Police Funding: 50% | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Police Budget Cost per Person | ||||
| Misconduct Settlements | ||||
| Fines/Forfeitures | ||||
| Police Presence/Over-Policing (Officers per Population) | ||||
| Police Violence: 62% | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Force Used per Arrest | ||||
| Deadly Force per Arrest | ||||
| Unarmed Victims of Deadly Force per Arrest | ||||
| Racial Disparities in Deadly Force | ||||
Worse
50th Percentile
Better
| Police Accountability: 21% | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Misconduct Complaints Upheld | ||||
| Excessive Force Complaints Upheld | ||||
| Discrimination Complaints Upheld | ||||
| Criminal Misconduct Complaints Upheld | ||||
| Approach to Law Enforcement: 40% | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrest Rate for Low Level Offenses | ||||
| Homicides Solved | ||||
| Racial Disparities in Drug Arrests | ||||
Key Findings
3 Killings by Police
126 civilian complaints of police misconduct
10% were ruled in favor of civilians from 2016-18.
62,202 arrests made
66% of all arrests were for low-level, non-violent offenses from 2013-19.
Police Funding i
Section Score: 50%
Police Funding By Year
$85.64M | $474 per Resident
More Police Funding per Capita than 91% of Depts
Source: US Census Bureau
Funds taken from communities in fines and forfeitures
Total: $9.64M from 2010-19
Source: US Census Bureau
Number of officers per 1k population
255 Officers | 14.1 per 10k Residents
More Officers per Population than 45% of Depts
Source: Federal LEOKA Database
Police violence i
Section Score: 62%
Open in New Window
Less-Lethal Force
Used More Force per Arrest than 33% of Depts
372 Incidents | 60 every 10k arrests | ▶-6%
^ Includes batons, strangleholds, tasers & other police weapons
Source: Police Department
Open in New Window
Deadly Force
3 Killings by Police from 2013-20 | 0.4 every 10k arrests
^ More Killings by Police per Arrest than 20% of Depts
Source: Mapping Police Violence
Deadly Force by Armed Status
33% Unarmed | 33% Did Not Allegedly Have a Gun
Unarmed
Other
Alleged Gun
Vehicle
^ More Unarmed People Killed per Arrest than N/A of Depts
Open in New Window
Police Violence by Race
Black
Latinx
N.Am
API
Other
White
Population of Jurisdiction
Police Department Demographics
People Arrested
People Killed
Source: Uniform Crime Report, Mapping Police Violence, LEMAS
Police Accountability i
Section Score: 21%
Total civilian complaints
126 from 2016-18 | 10% Ruled in Favor of Civilians
Arrests By Year
62,202 Arrests Reported from 2013-19
More Info
Arrests for Low Level Offenses
40,744 Arrests | 32 per 1k residents
^ Higher Arrest Rate for Low Level Offenses than 82% of Depts
Percent of total arrests by type
All Arrests for Low Level Offenses ( 66% )
Drug Possession ( 16% )
Violent Crime ( 4% )
Open in New Window
Homicides Unsolved
28 Homicides from 2013-19 | 5 Unsolved
^ Solved Fewer Homicides than 33% of Depts
South Dakota Police Department Scores
Rankings are based upon a 0 to 100 percentage scale. Departments with higher scores use less force, make fewer arrests for low level offenses, solve murder cases more often, hold officers more accountable and spend less on policing overall.
Overall Scores for Depts where We Have Obtained the Most Data.
Tap "show more" to see extended list
| Police Department | Score | 5YR |
|---|---|---|
| 2. Sioux Falls 43% | ▶-13% | |
| 1. Rapid City 44% | ▶-9% | |
| * Deadwood 36% | ▶-3% | |
| * North Sioux City 37% | ▶-3% | |
| * Flandreau 40% | ▶-3% | |
| * Sisseton 41% | ▶-2% | |
| * Wagner 41% | ▶+5% | |
| * Murdo 41% | ▶-4% | |
| ▶-1% | ||
| ▶-7% | ||
| ▶-6% | ||
| ▶+13% | ||
| ▶-3% | ||
| ▶-1% | ||
| ▶+4% | ||
| ▶-5% | ||
| ▶-3% | ||
| ▶+4% | ||
| ▶-1% | ||
| ▶-2% | ||
| ▶-8% | ||
| ▶+2% | ||
| ▶+1% | ||
| ▶-4% | ||
| ▶+4% | ||
| ▶-6% | ||
| ▶-3% | ||
| ▶-3% | ||
| ▶-4% | ||
| ▶-5% | ||
| ▶+5% | ||
| ▶+1% | ||
| ▶-12% | ||
| ▶+4% | ||
| ▶-4% | ||
| ▶+1% | ||
| ▶+1% | ||
| ▶-8% | ||
| ▶-1% | ||
| ▶+4% | ||
| ▶-5% | ||
| ▶-1% | ||
| ▶-7% | ||
| Police Department | Score | 5YR |
|---|---|---|
| * Beresford 50% | ▶-1% | |
| * Arlington 50% | ▶-6% | |
| * Corsica 50% | ||
| * Lake Andes 50% | ||
| * Eureka 50% | ▶-2% | |
| * Philip 50% | ▶+7% | |
| * Highmore 50% | ||
| * Armour 50% | ▶-3% | |
| ▶-2% | ||
| ▶-3% | ||
| ▶-6% | ||
| ▶-5% | ||
| ▶-3% | ||
| ▶+4% | ||
| ▶-3% | ||
| ▶+6% | ||
| ▶-5% | ||
| ▶+2% | ||
| ▶-3% | ||
| ▶-6% | ||
| ▶-6% | ||
| ▶-3% | ||
| ▶-11% | ||
| ▶-3% | ||
| ▶+1% | ||
| ▶-6% | ||
| ▶-2% | ||
| ▶-5% | ||
| ▶-2% | ||
| ▶-5% | ||
| ▶-6% | ||
| ▶+14% | ||
| ▶+6% | ||
| ▶+2% | ||
| ▶+12% | ||
| ▶-4% | ||
| ▶-7% | ||
| ▶-11% | ||
| ▶+14% | ||
| ▶-2% | ||
| ▶-11% | ||
| ▶-5% | ||
| ▶-2% | ||
* An asterisk indicates this location did not publish enough data to evaluate. Click below to add data to the Scorecard.
About This Scorecard
This is the first nationwide evaluation of policing in the United States. It was built using data from state and federal databases, public records requests to local police departments, and media reports. While police data is never perfect, and there are additional indicators that still need to be tracked, the Police Scorecard is designed to provide insight into many important issues in policing.
Use this Scorecard to identify issues within police departments that require the most urgent interventions and hold officials accountable for implementing solutions. For example, cities with higher rates of low level arrests could benefit most from solutions that create alternatives to policing and arrest for these offenses. In cities where police make fewer arrests overall but use more force when making arrests, communities could benefit significantly from policies designed to hold police accountable for excessive force. And cities where complaints of police misconduct are rarely ruled in favor of civilians could benefit from creating an oversight structure to independently investigate these complaints.
Here's how to start pushing for change
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Contact your Mayor and Police Chief, share your scorecard with them and urge them to enact policies to address the issues you've identified:
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Mayor Paul TenHaken
Phone: 605-367-8800
Email: ptenhaken@siouxfalls.org
Advocacy Tip: There is problematic language in this city's police union contract that could make it harder to hold officers accountable. Learn more about this contract and how to change it at Nixthe6.org. -
Mayor Paul TenHaken
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Look up your state and federal representatives below, then tell them to take action to hold police accountable in your community.
Join a team of researchers, students, data scientists, activists and organizers working to collect, analyze and use data for justice and accountability.
Create data visualizations and content that raises awareness about solutions to the issues identified by the data.
If you have feedback, questions about the project, or need support with an advocacy campaign, contact our Project Lead, Samuel Sinyangwe.
What's Next
Step 1: COMPLETED
Obtain data on 100 California cities. Refine methodology in response to feedback from communities, researchers and local officials.
Step 2: COMPLETED
Expand to every major law enforcement agency in America and include additional indicators such as police budgets and jail incarceration.
Step 3: IN PROGRESS
Inform data-driven solutions nationwide. Update as new federal, state and local data are collected. Track progress and hold cities accountable to results.